TY - GEN
T1 - Unconfined compressive strength of 4-inch plaster cubes containing large voids
AU - Maclaughlin, Mary M.
AU - Berry, Katherine G.
AU - Hudyma, Nick
PY - 2011
Y1 - 2011
N2 - The presence of large voids ("macroporosity") can have a large influence on the engineering properties of materials, but quantifying this influence is not a simple undertaking due to the variation in void size, shape, and spacing. In a recent Montana Tech master's thesis, the influence of void spacing was investigated using 4″ cubic specimens containing seven 0.5″ diameter cylindrical voids oriented in a cluster around the center of the specimens. Numerical and experimental results suggest that void spacing has significant influence on unconfined compressive strength (UCS); the controlling factor appears to be the width of the solid "pillars" that are able to carry load. The work described in this paper is an expansion of the earlier study, in which some of the voids in the cluster are not present. Sixty two-dimensional FLAC numerical models containing three and five 0.5″ diameter voids produced evidence supporting the interpretation that "pillar" size controls the specimen UCS: in all cases except one, the UCS values of the three and five void configurations were moderately to significantly different from those with the seven-void cluster only when the pillar size was substantially increased. Twenty-five specimens were tested in the laboratory to verify the results of the numerical models.
AB - The presence of large voids ("macroporosity") can have a large influence on the engineering properties of materials, but quantifying this influence is not a simple undertaking due to the variation in void size, shape, and spacing. In a recent Montana Tech master's thesis, the influence of void spacing was investigated using 4″ cubic specimens containing seven 0.5″ diameter cylindrical voids oriented in a cluster around the center of the specimens. Numerical and experimental results suggest that void spacing has significant influence on unconfined compressive strength (UCS); the controlling factor appears to be the width of the solid "pillars" that are able to carry load. The work described in this paper is an expansion of the earlier study, in which some of the voids in the cluster are not present. Sixty two-dimensional FLAC numerical models containing three and five 0.5″ diameter voids produced evidence supporting the interpretation that "pillar" size controls the specimen UCS: in all cases except one, the UCS values of the three and five void configurations were moderately to significantly different from those with the seven-void cluster only when the pillar size was substantially increased. Twenty-five specimens were tested in the laboratory to verify the results of the numerical models.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/84868629263
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84868629263
SN - 9781622762491
T3 - 43rd Symposium on Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering 2011: Water, Soils and Sustainability in the Intermountain West
SP - 116
EP - 126
BT - 43rd Symposium on Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering 2011
T2 - 43rd Symposium on Engineering Geology and Geotechnical Engineering 2011: Water, Soils and Sustainability in the Intermountain West, EGGE 2011
Y2 - 23 March 2011 through 25 March 2011
ER -